Cruisin' II- Leaving Savona

*This is a series of posts about our Christmas Cruise to the Mediterranean Sea. If you want to read them all, click on the "Cruise" tag on the right. If you don't care to watch AND read a slide show of "My Family Vacation" feel free to skip these posts. :)*

Getting on to the ship was a bit of a hassle. We were boarding class #2 since we took the Costa bus. This meant sitting in this massive lobby (like an airport terminal) and trying to listen for our number to be called then once it was called corralling 8 adults, 6 kids, 1 baby and ALL our carry-on luggage to get in "line" (see last post) to have documents checked. We had passports and tickets checked, then were sent through metal detectors, then sent down an elevator (we had a stroller, carseat, backpacks, pillows, blankets, sippy cups, and a baby), put on a packed bus (NOT AGAIN!), driven literally around the corner and dropped off at the ship's entrance. Here we were funneled through 2 lines, our passports taken and pictures recorded, and then they split Matt and me up. I had the stroller and he was sent through another line and I didn't know where he was going or where I should meet him, so after hemming and hawing in the tiny entrance for 10 minutes or so I decided to go to our room.

There was some confusion but we finally met back up in the room and got unpacked and settled in a bit. They already had a Pack and Play set up for Maggie so as soon as we got settled we all laid down for a nap. It didn't last long as Maggie was far too out-of-sorts to sleep long, so then we got up and went to the buffet for a late lunch.

Pretty pleased with the way lunch went.

We went back down to our room to clean up and let Maggie play a bit more then it was time for our first seated fancy dinner. I had been looking forward to these since booked the cruise.

Looking out the window in our room to the port before we set sail.

Dinner was... interesting. They already had a high chair set up at our assigned table, but Maggie was tired, hungry, and had little attention span for sitting strapped in a high chair when there are so many stairs to be climbed in the dining room. We entertained her for a while with movies on the iPad (this would become a nightly ritual that the waiters LOVED- sometimes a wayward kid on the way to the bathroom would even stop and watch over Maggie's shoulder for a minute)

Me, before kids: My child will NEVER be entertained by a screen at the table or in the car, and will not take a pacifier in public past age 1.

After the older kids finished eating they took Maggie to their room to play while the adults got to finish the six course meal in peace.

I had not felt well since the night before, and I kept thinking eating would make me feel better, but instead I kept feeling worse and worse. During the six course dinner I could barely taste one course before my belly would yell at me to STOP! and I couldn't even enjoy the bottle of wine we were drinking. So after dinner when the rest of the families went to the after-dinner show, we went back to our room where Matt gave Maggie a bath while I sat very, very still on the bed and tried not to think about maggots in oatmeal and dog vomit.  Why is it when you feel bad your brain will only think about nasty stuff?

The stewards hung Christmas bows on everyone's doors.

Our lights were out by 9. By 10:30 I was in the tiny bathroom being re-introduced to my 6 course dinner. I spent the rest of the night becoming familiar with an unfamiliar bed, freaking out about every noise the ship made (DID WE JUST HIT AN ICEBERG? Oh wait, we're in the Mediterranean), and trying to fall asleep.

We're off to a great start, aren't we?